without calling it false is because they object to the word replica. which is it? is there a plan to build a second temporary oval office where president obama will work during construction temporarily? the white house -- the reporter says -- we say at least for now we're going to need a new sound effect. >> huh? >> huh? i think we still need a new sound effect. that one kind of sucked. we'll get a new one and keep you posted. now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." >> bobby jindal failed miserably as the official republican responder to the first respond to to the presidential address. marco rubio will be the next republican to do the response

next week. >> the president has developed a strategy. >> that includes gun, immigration and the looming budget war. >> washington has to deal with its spending problem. sfwlt republican party just isn't there. >> there are things the republican party can do. >> trying to put some new paint on the brand. >> they're going for a full makeover. >> hi, i'm marco rubio. >> marco rubio will be delivering the republican response. >> makes sense. >> we have to identify our principles. >> the response to the state of the union. >> that's hard work. >> bobby jindal did it. >> good evening and happy mardi gras. >> he's still recovering. >> health care, taxes, the economy. >> that takes time to explain to people. >> the republican party just isn't there. >> washington has to deal with its spending problem. >> that may take more than one election cycle. >> i've had enough of it. it's time to act. >> get used to this new word.

>> the sequester. >> the sequester. >> the sequester. >> i don't like the sequester. >> something so terrible. >> dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! >> slow down. >> we've got immigration, gun control, electoral changes. >> it's time for them to exert a little leadership. >> we have to identify our principles. that takes time to explain to people. >> i've had enough of it. it's time to act. john boehner announced today that marco rubio will deliver the republican response to president obama's state of the union address on tuesday. rubio aides are busy trying to spread the nonsense that he will write his own speech. senator rubio did an interview with buzz feed last night while drinking beer, a necessary proof

to political reporters that you're a regular guy. >> what we have to do is identify those principles and turn those into policies that speak for the 2 1s century. >> marco rubio seems to think republicanism is so wicked complicated that it takes like years to teach. >> to convince people that what we stand for, that free nt prize and limited government is the best way to create the condition for their dreams to be possible. that's hard work. that takes time to explain to people, it may take more than one election cycle. >> it sounds like it's going to take more than 12 minutes after a state of the union address to teach america this very, very complicated thing that free enterprise is good for you. >> they've been trying for a long time and americans just aren't getting it. that's the problem. i went back and reread mitch daniel's speech -- i'm not like

guys, i don't just remember it word for word. i have o go back and read it. the problem is not the rhetoric. the rhetoric in his speeches very moderate, he said an opposition must offer not just criticism of failures but a positive and credible plan to make love better. it sounds a lot like the rebranding that they're trying to do now. the problem is not the things that they're saying. the problem is the things that they stand for and marco rubio in particular, i'm really pleased that he's putting himself out there on immigration, it is a politically courageous move but on every other issue, he's very far to the right. including he voted against the fiscal cliff deal. >> but he is good about sounding reasonable. i want to listen to something else he said about a false choice about government. >> it's the false choice that's out there. you're either for big government or no government. government all has a role to

play. i believe government has a role to play in financial aid. i never would have gone to school without federal financial aid. can't have a vibrant free enterprise system if there isn't a safety net to catch people who have tried and failed and we're too prosperous a nation and too compassionate a people not to help people who can't help themselves. >> no romney echo there. >> they have learned one important lesson from the campaign, which was they got so caught up in the rhetoric of their own donor circle, as opposed to their own voters -- this is really troop. they actually thought this is what voters wanted it hear. the iconic moment of course is the 47% moment when mitt romney is talking to his donor class, but they actually embody that. a very small percent and of

americans are small business owners. most people earn wages for a living. so they have learned and marco rubio i think is quite a deft politician. they have learned the lesson to not just listen to their donor class and tell the story their donor class wants to hear if they want to win national elections. the problem is people aren't totally easily hoodwinked. the question is what you deliver on and the votes right now i think are mostly the same. the whole idea that eric cantor and marco has is we can change the rhetoric, stop giving this blatantly offensive vision of america as makers and makers, which nobody likes. i think that will help at the margins but the deeper problem is there are actual interests at play, social benefits people care about and actual rights

people want to defend that have to be delivered on. >> there's the trick on the rubio statement, he speaks about federal financial aid for education but he and his party want to cut it and that's the part he didn't say. >> and he talks about the safety net in general and how we have to protect it but you can't frank luns your way out of this. you can't call it a death panel or chang the way you're talking about these things without fundamentally changing the policies that you're talking about here and that's the issue. they have this sort of no-win situation where if they move too far from where they've been, they're in danger of losing people on the right, they're in danger of these ugly primary battles, they're trying to avoid that. at the same time, they're trying to piece back together a national coalition, which frankly right now they do now have. >> the optic of tuesday night, bobby jindal got wiped out, it

set back his career years, he is still trying to climb up to where he was back then. i think marco rubio run as very similar risk. the cosmetics on him are odd because it can read well some of of the things he has but there are times when he looks 12 years old and he could look like a very tiny character after a presidential address. >> you don't ever have that problem, do you? >> no, no, of course not. i know nothing about that. appearing without gravitas? that is completely alien to me. it's a fascinating institution, the state of the union response. on one level it's so high profile. on the other level, it's pretty much set up to fail. can you not compete with the pomp and circumstances of the commander in chief, of the president of the united states. everything always looks like an after thought, which is what it is. we didn't used to have these. this is a modern incarnation after lobbying for balance.

i think marco rubio is a gifted politician. i think there's a fascinating investment in the personage of rubio. he's able to square a circle the republicans faced. they have to get right with latino voters and here is lo and behold marco rubio and he can be the one person and he is selling himself that way pipts the problem of the coalition. it's the problem of who are republicans and what do they stand for. one individual, however powerful his rhetoric and symbolism, won't be able to do what they believe they can. >> a character cannot replace a policy. >> thank you both for joining me tonight. >> coming up, chris christie is now amazingly in day three of answering questions about his weight, questions that are getting tougher and stranger. and there is no evidence tonight

that if chris christie runs for president, he will be running against hillary clinton. and are you afraid of ashley judd? of course not. who are afraid of ashley judd? turns out karl rove and mitch mcconnell are afraid of ashley judd. and the story of a politician who did the right thing, even though he knew it would cost him politically, even though he saw his father's political career end because his father did the right thing. the rarest thing in poll tex is in tonight's rewrite, political bravery. and be sure to like us on facebook, please. this is begging you're hearing right now. they told me to beg you about this. please like us on facebook. there's nothing better than salon color,

full of beautiful highlights and lowlights. that's why nice'n easy builds dimension into every shade. so here's a challenge: love the gorgeous dimension of nice'n easy or we'll pay for a salon color. take the salon challenge, from nice'n easy. ♪ ♪ i want candy ♪ ♪ i want candy

the cosmetics of politics, hillary gets accused of maybe

having a face lift and chris christie keeps getting tougher questions about his weight. that's coming up. and just by thinking about running for senate, ashley judd is suddenly terrifying the republican party. >> america's next top model had competition. the boys had celebrity coaches, they both come together on "the face." where three super model coaches battle to find the next super model. great, everybody made it. we all work remotely so this is a big deal, our first full team gathering! i wanted to call on a few people. ashley, ashley marshall... here. since we're often all on the move, ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. great job. [ applause ] thank you. and on a protocol note, i'd like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps in emails. [ shouting ] oh i'm sorry guys. ah sometimes the caps lock gets stuck on my keyboard. hey do you wanna get a drink later?

[ male announcer ] hold packages at any fedex office location. (grayou've come to the righting to buyplace...ubaru, hey do you wanna get a drink later? ...especially if you're a dog. can you smell that leather? of course you can. your nose is amazing. you guys keep in touch. i'll get you a great deal on any trade-in, no questions asked. i have no questions! and just look at that cargo space! what? once you sit in a subaru, you'll stay. day three of cosmetics and politics today. fox news suddenly became fascinated with hillary clinton's latest look. >> is this the face of presidential ambition? days after retiring as secretary

of state, hillary clinton, somebody has launched a new web site for her showing off this glamorous new face. facelift perhaps? well, that's fueling rumors about a run for president in 2016 but her aides say it's simply a way for fans and the media to reach her. >> two hours after that comment, fox's steve doocy tweeted, i was saying hillary clinton had a new facelift for sight. new jersey governor chris christie was upset today after hearing these comments -- >> it's almost like a time bomb waiting to happen unless he addresses those issues running for office. i'm a republican so i like chris christie a lot. i want him to run pip just want him to lose weight. i'm a physician more than i'm a democrat and republican. i worry about this man dieing in office.

>> chris christie, who has publicly talked about his weight three days in a row now had this reaction to dr. mariano's comment. >> i find it fascinating in a doctor in arizona who's never met me, never examined me, never reviewed my records could make a diagnosis about me. this just another hack to wants five minutes on tv. it's completely irresponsible. my children saw that. my 12-year-old some came to me and asked me, dad, are you going to die? if she wants to come to new jersey and review my medical history, i'll have a conversation with her about that. until that time, she should shut up. >> i find it fascinating that

bill clinton's white house physician was a republican. what the -- >> who knew? and she had such a close relationship with him, too. it's get so long interesting for kr christie. this has become an issue that has traction. the doctor probably shouldn't have said die in office, find another way to phrase that but this is a real thing, it's not going away. >> in spite of his righteous indignation, you don't have to be a genius to diagnose that he is seriously overweight. the diagnosis is pretty clear. we live in a world where presidents release their full medical records, where they face real records about their health, their ability to survive four years in office and crucially, if you are in his situation, the health of the vice presidential pick. he could run a completely different campaign where the vice president is almost looked at as someone who will have a

reasonable chance of going into office but that's not the kind of presidential run you really want to have. >> karen finney, i think we have safely say that hillary clinton has not had a facelift, that what we saw there was kind of a little photo shopping. i believe my head shot has been touched at at my instruction trying to fix all sorts of problems that i have there. >> can you blame her for not wanting to have a picture that actually showed the wear and tear of the last 20 years or at least the last hundred and some many miles she's traveled as secretary of state? i mean, of course she wanted to look good. hello! i mean, who wouldn't want to. i find it fascinating, though, that yet again fox news, that's the best they can do. really? it's time to get a life. every little thing that hillary does -- i'm surprised they didn't accuse her of changing her hair style. if you'll notice it was flipped

under, whereas in the benghazi hearing, it was flipped that way. >> let's listen to something chuck todd said this morning on the "today" show about hillary clinton. >> i want to say a web site is just a web site but if you click on the information button, look at the information they want you from, your e-mail, a way to get back to you. something tell mees me that dat just not going to go away. you can say it's the very beginnings the structures should be put in place should she decide to do it. >> they just want some contact information. >> the fact you roll this out straight after doing 12 gazillion interviews, it's just a coincidence. >> in fairness, she is a former first lady, a former senator, a former secretary of state, there is a lot of interest about whatwhat she's going to do?

there's no shame in having a little web site and saying if you want to give us your information, we'll let you know. if she doesn't run for president and she launches some big initiative, that is very good p.r. for her. >> the krischristie versus hill phenomenon, it's getting the most attention in this situation. to what extent are you guessing at this point that one is eyeing the other as the possible debate partner in a general election? >> well, if they have presidential ambitions and they both clearly do, then you are trying to size up the opposition. but let's just be clear. one of them has a reasonably clear path to the nomination and the other really doesn't. and chris christie has to somehow figure out how he gets to the general election phase to have that kind of debate. for hillary clinton, if she chooses to do this, it's a much different path. >> karen, i'm starting to wonder about christie, just in today's

response to this thing about the weight. now, that was a pretty obscure interview on television that he then raised into this much bigger thing with this very passionate reaction. it doesn't seem like he's quite practiced in the presidential campaign level of this kind of thing where you have to be very careful about what you comment on because you make it a bigger story. >> i think one of the things we know about chris christie is he does not have thick skin. this is not the first time when someone's made a comment about his weight that he's sort of overreacted, overresponded, if you will. i agree with you guys that i wish dr. connie hadn't made the comment about dying in office. she's a great doctor. i personally follow her advice. this is a woman who knows what she's talking about. he can say what he wants in front of the cameras and he's probably make ak fair point. and he makes an issue of it all

the time. he's pointed out the fact he believes he needs to lose weight. he's had moments where he's said of course i'm overweight, of course i need to lose weight. he's going to have to get a better answer and stick with it. >> thank you for joining me tonight. >> republicans are so scared about ashley judd running against mitch mcconnell that they're already attacking her and she's not even running yet. and the rarest thing in politics, a story of political bravery. i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪

if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and class-leading 38 mpg highway... advanced headlights... and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $199-per-month lease on the 2013 nissan altima. ♪ with multiple lacerations to the wing and a fractured beak. surgery was successful, but he will be in a cast until it is fully healed, possibly several months. so, if the duck isn't able to work, how will he pay for his living expenses? aflac. like his rent and car payments? aflac. what about gas and groceries? aflac. cell phone? aflac, but i doubt he'll be using his phone for quite a while cause like i said, he has a fractured beak. [ male announcer ] send the aflac duck a get-well card at getwellduck.com.

hmm, we need a new game. ♪ that'll save the day. ♪ so will bounty select-a-size. it's the smaller powerful sheet. the only one with trap + lock technology. look! one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. use less. with the small but powerful picker upper, bounty select-a-size. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps.com you can print real u.s. postage for all your letters and packages. i have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. can you print only stamps? no... first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

in "the rewrite" tonight, like father like son. the story of political bravery of mario cuomo and andrew cuomo, why andrew cuomo's approval rating has suddenly dropped in new york state simply because he chose to do the right thing. that's coming up. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix.

when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery.

common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. it helps to have people around you... they say, you're much bigger than this. and you are. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox. and it gives you the tools to create custom emails that drive business. it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today at constantcontact.com/try.

should scouting be hoopen t gays? >> yes. >> why so? >> well, my attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life. >> in the spotlight tonight scouts dishonor.

the boy scouts of america decided to hold on on a vote on whether to change its policies and allows gays to join it's troop. they said due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy. only 33% believe the ban should stay. joining me now, zach walls and daniel hernandez, the former intern who helped save gabby giffords' life and author of the new memoir "they call me a hero." zach walls, are you in a broadway play or something? >> absolutely not. >> i'm getting the feeling you know something about this scouts thing. >> that's right. i'm an eagle scout. >> an eagle scout is like what? it's like a general or something? >> it's the highest youth award

can you get in the scouts. >> this is absolutely something what we were a little disappointed about, our organization scouts for equality has been working on this for the last several months. we thought while today's announcement was punting the ball, if they had the votes to shoot it down, they would have done that today. >> daniel, were you a scout? >> no, i was like you, one of those punks. >> the uniforms were awesome. >> i think the decision today is a victory in and of itself because we didn't get a straight no. >> that's the interesting part. they've been pretty hard line about this. >> zach, your mothers are gay. >> that's right. >> and you joined this organization knowing that they would not let your mothers be involved, say, on the girl scouts side as a troop leader or

something. >> i joined this program when i was 6 years old because i wanted to experience the great outdoors and all that stuff. my moms did get involved. it was a don't ask/don't tell policy and the leaders in iowa where i was growing up were willing to turn a blind eye. my mom, jackie, became a den mother, a mama grizzly, if you will and was a highly revered leader. so they were part of the scouting experience and i saw first hand there's no incongruence with scouting values in lgbt people. people who are trying to speak out about lifting this ban, it's not about the boy scouts. it's about the problem they have with people who are gay, people who save people's lives, people like my mom who work for the veterans affairs hospitals and protect the men and women in uniform. >> daniel, for those of us who live outside of boy scout world,

what does it mean to the larger community, do you think? >> i think it's one of the larger parts of sea change? acceptance of the the community. we are mainstream america. we put our pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else. >> he puts short pants on. look, if you show up like that, there's going to be jokes. >> absolutely. >> i think it goes towards saying people in the lbgt community are like everybody else. it's a symbolic step but it's an important one. our kids want to be involved in these issues as well. >> 63% of catholics supported raising the ban, we've had from the episcopalian change-up, the

united states of christ, it's only a couple of people on the fringe speaking out against it. >> you've lived through tragedy of having your life changed by a mass murderer, well equipped by our firearms strained by our laws that allow such easy access to it. you also have congressional experience. where do you think we're going with president obama's attempt to push through some reforms? >> i think it's so encouraging to see such bold moves coming from the obama administration as we've seen, not just on this issue but on the issue of immigration, to see him coming out and saying strongly -- >> by the way, at the same time. >> at the same time, which is something i think a lot of people never would have expected. but to see him coming out and starting this task force. as a young elected official, i was so struck by what happened in sandy hook. i lived through tucson but for a long time i said i'm not going to get involved in this issue, this is not going to be something i'm going to politicize. but we saw aurora, but when it

hit close to home, when it was our children, our most vulnerable, that's when it started. and seeing gabby saying we need to be brave and america is counting on you, that was a message for all of our elected officials up and down from the state house all the way to the white house. >> zach, on this issue, it's a children's protection issue that the democrats are trying to frame. it seems like the kind of thing that the boy scouts would want to get behind, for example. but they've really -- what they're trying to say here is how much risk should be involved in going to kindergarten in america? >> none. absolutely none. just like there shouldn't be any risk in being a boy scout. when i look at these kinds of sporadic massacre, people who have been support for looking over the last 10, 15 years, young adults who are not properly prepared for the life experiences of being a person

who has a lot of responsibility. i think as a society we have a very serious question to ask ourselves about how are we preparing our least experienced adults to deal with the pressures and tribulations of modern society absolutely. >> and, daniel, the way this -- you made the point about immigration and gun control at the same time. it's hard to explain to civilians. how difficult it is in the congressional pipeline to move two things at once. >> to move anything. >> anything at all. >> when we looked at the last session, it was one of the most unproductive congresses. so to see the president says these are such important issues that i know i can get people on my side, including republicans, when we saw that gang of eight republicans and democrats in the senate saying we're going to take on immigration, including people from my state, senators johnson mccain and jeff lake, that's an encouraging thing. the gun safety thing is more important.

coming from a state like arizona where we have a gun culture, it's not about taking people's guns away, it's about imposing common sense changes to legislation to background checks and to making sure we're reducing the easy availability of assault weapons and extended magazines. these are not things when you go hunting. they are not things you need for self-defense. >> zach walls, thank you and thank you for joining us in the studio tonight. >> coming up, how afraid is karl rove of ashley judd? he's running ads against her before she's even decided whether she's going to run for office. and the politically brave decision that has cost andy cuomo 15 points in the polls. is made with extra cushions

that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less. charmin ultra soft. plus you can use four times less. alions come over to mithis is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers.

♪ don't know what i'd do ♪ i'd have nothing to prove [ male announcer ] introducing the celebration diamond collection. zales is the diamond store. let love shine. karl rove is busy trying to stop crazy republicans from

running for senate, but he's already actually spending money trying to stop one democrat from running for senate. karl rove versus ashley judd is coming up. and next in "the rewrite," gun, the death penalty and the political cost of doing the right thing. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision,

or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. here's a trick question for politician -- what won't do you to win an election?

pure politicians believe they should do anything, say anything to win an election. when you ask a politician what won't you do to win an election, it sounds like a trick question when it should be an easy question. do you have a line in the sand moral or otherwise about anything? mitt romney is our finest contemporary example, thanks to 20 years of video, of a politician who was willing to take any position necessary to win an election, pro-choice on abortion rights when he thought that would win him an election, opposed to an election when he thought that would win an election. we in the media actually lost track of how many issues romney flip flopped on but romney was just doing heightened version of what politicians have always done in both parties. one example i'll never forget is bill clinton desperately trying to separate himself from his own tax policy on his way to reelection. he actually told a texas crowd at a fund raiser in 1995, quote, probably there are people in

this room still mad at me at that budget because you think i raised your taxes too much. it might surprise you to know that i think i raised them too much, too. i cannot tell you how much that comment outraged democrats in the house and senate who fought hard to pass the clinton tax increase, a bill that passed each chamber by exactly one vote. but, hey, that's what politic n politicians do, right, tell people what they want to hear, no matter what the truth is. the truth is not a factor in most political calculations by most politicians. when you see politicians doing the right thing, saying the right thing, it is almost always because their polling data tells them that the right thing also happens to be the politically convenient thing. there's nothing more rare in politics than a politician doing something he or she knows will

cost politically, hurt in the polls. we saw president obama do that with health care reform, pushing it through congress with a majority of americans opposed to it in the polls. the president knew that would cost him support, but he did it anyway because he believed it was the right thing to do. a typical presidency doesn't include such political bravery about anything. most political careers never involve political bravery, never. so when we see it, we must salute it, we must encourage it or we risk never receiving it again. we saw it a few weeks ago, but many of us, including me, didn't realize we were seeing it at the time. we thought we were watching a smart politician take the lead on the national issue of the day and do the right thing in a way that would benefit him politically. but now that he's dropped 15 points in the polls after doing

that, we now know that what we saw was one of those rare outbreaks of political bravery. new york's governor andrew cuomo pushed through tough new gun and ammunition control legislation with lightning speed and signed it into law on january 15th, just before doing that his approval rating in new york was at 74% in the quinnipiac university poll. in their latest poll, their government's approval has dropped 15 points. maurice carol, a long-time new york political observer said the "new york times" "gun control clearly, clearly has a big impact on his serious dip in the job approval." when asked about his drop in the polls, the governor told reporters we are not here to duck the tough issues, we are here to take on the tough issues and that is exactly what politicians usually say when they are actually ducking the tough issues. the largest drop in the poll for

andrew cuomo was among republicans. andrew cuomo had 68 approval rate with republicans before the gun and ammunition legislation and now has a 44% approval rating with republicans, a 24-point drop. he dropped 16 points among independents, even among democrats governor cuomo dropped 8 points. he took an action he did not have to do that lost him political support across the board including in his own party. when questioned by reporters about his drop in the poll, governor cuomo gamely suggested the more people understood the new law, the better they're going to feel about it and presumably about him. but andrew cuomo knows well where political bravery can lead. his father was the popular three-term governor of new york who had been presumed to be the front-runner for the democratic nomination for president whenever he chose to run, which he never did.

i thought mario cuomo was going to be governor forever until one day in a senate elevator the most colorful character in the building told me otherwise the then republican senator alfonse d'amato was the senate's fish out of water, the guy who just didn't fit in with all the elegant pin stripes and cuff links and smooth talkers. think joe pesce in "my cousin vinny" now set that movie in the senate and you have al d'amato. he could be fun, he could be wild, he once sang songs on the senate floor. he was great to have on your side when fighting for things that new york needed but he was a fierce opponent, the most ruthless in the senate. and so when he grabbed me, literally grabbed me by the lapels in the senate elevator, just the two of us and vented his latest rage against mario cuomo, i knew mario was in

trouble. al said he was going to get mario. now, i'm not going to quote al here because i have to clean this up a lot to get it past the msnbc censors. he wasn't grabbing my lapel because he was mad at me. he was mad at mario. he was talking to me because he liked me and confiding in me and letting me see his rage was his way of letting me know he thought i was a good guy. i get that part. al said he was going to get mario, he was going to run against him for governor or find someone to run against mario and get mario on tax's and the death penalty. he found george pataki and run him against cuomo on the death penalty. all he had to do was give something on the death penalty,

say he was in the favor of death penalty in the case of koch killers. it was a pure live academic point. new york had not executed anyone in 31 years and after the pro-death penalty unknown george pataki beat the great mario cuomo and became governor, new york state still never executed anyone. but it wasn't an academic point to mario cuomo, it was a moral principle. changing his opinion on the death penalty in any way was the thing mario cuomo would not do, could not do to win an election. as george pataki overtook mario cuomo in the poll, the pressure to say something new about the death penalty became intense on the governor. he was fighting for his political life. veteran new york political reporter gabe pressman at a cuomo campaign stop asked the governor if he would rather actually lose than change his

mind on the death penalty. >> my position has always been the same. the death penalty is wrong. the death penalty degrade. the death penalty doesn't defer anybody, it cost as lot of money. it's unfair. it's killed innocent people. life in prison without parole is the better solution. i have said it a thousand times. i lost to ed koch in '77, people said it was because of the death penalty. my mother asked me to give up the position. i'm going to die with the position. it could kill me in this election people say. okay. >> are you ready to take that? >> nobody wants to lose, i want to win. there's a lot i want to do for this state, things like this pier, we can do all sorts of wonderful things and i'm better equipped to do it. but if i were to give away my soul on this issue, no new yorker would want me. no new yorker should want me. the one thing you should get from your politicians and we

don't get them from all politicians is the truth. at least let this bum tell me the truth. >> at least let this bum tell me the truth. mario cuomo was a politician. he didn't always tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. he spun things like other politicians do sometimes, but on this hugely important issue, this political issue, this moral issue, this life-or-death issue, the death penalty, mario cuomo never considered telling voters anything but the truth about his moral and practical opposition to the death penalty and he kept telling that truth knowing that it was costing him the election. the gubernatorial campaign of 1994 turned out to be mario cuomo's last hurrah. he held on to his soul in that campaign but he lost the governorship. and now there is another

governor cuomo in albany with the political bravery to do the right thing on gun and ammunition control knowing that it hurts him politically. and us cuomo watchers are not surprised. this is so sick! i can't believe your mom let you take her car out. this is awesome! whoooo! you're crazy. go faster! go faster! go faster! go faster! no! stop...stop...

(mom) i raised my son to be careful... hi, sweetie. hi, mom. (mom) but just to be safe... i got a subaru. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. [ female announcer ] for beautiful dry mornings, there's pampers. unlike other diapers, pampers has 3 absorbent layers, for up to 12 hours of protection overnight. pampers. but they have to use special care in keeping the denture clean. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply.

polident is designed to clean dentures daily. its unique micro-clean formula kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains, cleaning in a better way than brushing with toothpaste. that's why i recommend using polident. [ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day.

karl rove is afraid, really, really afraid of ashley judd. his super pac released this ad today. >> you know what this country really needs? an independent voice for obama. >> i am committed to president obama and vice president biden. i think he's a brilliant man.

>> and it just clicked, tennessee is home. >> ashley judd, who is right at home here in tennessee -- i mean kentucky. >> in 2012 american cross roads spent over $103 million in support of republican candidates. of that 103 million over 1.9% was spent on candidate who is went on to win their elections. the other 98.71% was wasted on candidates who lost. here's what republican joe scarborough said today about karl rove. >> is karl rove right that you got to be gatekeepers? people who are like party chairs, big fund raisers? >> course. i don't know that karl rove after his performance in 2012 should be the gatekeeper. he was inside the bubble as much

as anybody else. >> ari, i'm not neutral on this because like the ad said, i am an obama following radical hollywood liberal. when they say that about ashley judd, i'm really hurt. zeshlgs y >> well, you booked the right guest. we have that in common. >> ashley judd, look at this ppp poll of kentucky voters, ashley judd at 43%, mitch mcconnell at 47%. now, what that means is mitch mcconnell is in grave trouble. as you know, ari, an incumbent is supposed to poll over 50%, usually significantly over 50%. whenever they poll before bee low 50 they're in grave trouble. the presumption is if the election was held literally today, the undecideds would go to the challenger ashley judd. she's a shoe-in, is what i'm saying. >> there's a lot of time but there's no doubt that mitch mcconnell has a problem here.

he has not solidified his support among his own base, the tea party. you know, he went against graham paul in kentucky, he doesn't have as much control over the grass roots. people forget kentucky is a state that does elect democrats. had you ford, huddleston, barclay. this is not a place for republicans only. he's got to be nervous. >> ashley judd at 43%, i want to double underline this, that is extraordinary that you could put her name in a poll, she would poll within the margin of error basically with an incumbent senator who has been there forever. it is a conservative state. i mean, she is -- the democrats better be begging her to run. >> right. and i think she does something that a lot of traditional democratic potential candidates in the state cannot do. she bring as type of luster, the celebrity status, that makes it harder to do the usual attack.

in other words, the idea that someone you haven't heard of is a weird, sellout, crazy dem and only follows obama, that's plate book, right? that could run against someone who is not a left leaning hollywood liberal. again, no offense. >> and this word hollywood with ashley judd is not going to hurt her. that's why they know her name. >> they know that, they're going to hear her out. there's no doubt she has repellant around her that helps deal a blow to the main thing here. the o'connell camp says we're not worried about this at all. not on the numbers but the fact that major republican players here are running ads just shows how worried they already are. >> there's no incumbent in the world who isn't worried when they're at 47 and they are panicked when there's an unannounced challenger at 43. >>